The Padres farm system is not regarded highly in the national view of things. The system is ranked 25th out of 30 teams by The Athletic’s Keith Law, only ahead of the Braves and the Giants in the National League.

Shortstop Leodalis De Vries and catcher Ethan Salas are the two top rated players but the system is considered weak below those two. The lack of overall depth is widely thought to be the biggest problem in the system. General Manager A.J. Preller traded 12 of the top 17 prospects over the course of the previous couple seasons to deplete the upper level talent.

Pitchers Sean Reynolds, Francis Peña and Bradgley Rodriguez are regarded as pitchers that can help the team through the course of this season and we have seen two of them already this year. Rodriguez is currently coming back from injury and Pena is not on the 40-man roster but is definitely ready if needed.

During the first half of this season there have been some strides made by some of the organization’s pitching talent. Here is a look at two of them who could help the team this year and next season.

RHP Henry Baez

Baez is on the 40-man roster, having been added last November. The 22-year-old Dominican was signed as an international player in July of 2019. He was not able to play as a professional until 2023 due to the pandemic and his slow progression after missing that time. He split 2023 between Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne. In 98.1 innings pitched he had a 7-3 record with a 3.84 ERA. His 99 strikeouts to 46 walks reflected his issues with control and command in his first full year.

In 2024, Baez broke out. He began the year back at Fort Wayne with 76.1 innings pitched and a 2.95 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 25 walks, He was promoted to San Antonio and pitched to a 5-1 record and 3.06 ERA with 31 strikeouts and 15 walks.

For the first half of 2025, Baez has a 2-2 record and a 2.01 ERA in 71.2 innings pitched with 70 strikeouts and 23 walks. This would probably get him a promotion but sending Baez to El Paso might not be of any benefit to him. It will be interesting to see if the organization thinks El Paso should be in his future.

Baez has a 92-95 mph fastball and tops out at 98. He also throws a 70’s curveball, a low 80’s split-change. He added a split-finger last year from Padres consultant Hideo Nomo. He was the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2024.

RHP Braden Nett

23-year-old Nett came to the Padres in an unusual fashion. He played briefly for St. Charles Community College in 2022 and then got a job working at Home Depot while also pitching for Williamsport Crosscutters of the MLB Draft League. His 16.2 innings pitched got him noticed by Padres scouts and he was signed as an undrafted free agent.

On a side note, the 2022 undrafted free agent class also includes prospects Kaden Hollow, Braedon Karpathios, Kai Murphy, Cole Paplham and recently promoted reliever David Morgan.

Nett was signed August of 2022. In 2023 he had shoulder issues, which slowed his start and he only began in August with Lake Elsinore. He then pitched in the Arizona Fall League to get more innings, where he threw 17.1 innings with 21 strikeouts and 10 walks. He showed a mid-90’s fastball with a slider, cutter and low 90’s changeup.

In 2024 he was ranked by MLB as the Padres #24 prospect, splitting his season between Fort Wayne and San Antonio achieving a 5-2 record with a 3.88 ERA in 65 innings. He had 73 strikeouts and 40 walks with a 26.7% K rate.

So far this season, Nett (#9 MLB) has pitched 66.2 innings with a 3.11 ERA with 76 strikeouts and 29 walks. He has added a high 80’s kick-change to his repertoire to replace a splitter that the team felt was inconsistent.

His innings will be limited and spread out over the season to decrease wear and tear on his arm, as he has already thrown more innings that he ever has in his short career. Nett was found by the scouting staff in St. Charles, Missouri after only pitching a minimal amount in community college and then advancing to a draft league. A diamond in the rough when first signed, Nett has come on strong and now looks to be a top half of the rotation pitcher.